Woman accuses doctor of hellish labor

CHICAGO, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A Chicago woman alleges a doctor inflicted hellish pain and refused to give her medication when she was delivering her fifth child.

"It was the worst pain I ever had in my life. I just don't want him to hurt another person," said Catherine Skol, 40, a former Chicago police officer who describes herself as tough and used to rough physical conditions.

In a civil suit filed Monday in Cook County, Skol alleges Dr. Scott Pierce denied her pain medication last March at Rush University Medical Center.

Pierce, Skol alleges, also conducted a painful vaginal exam in the middle of a contraction, berated Skol for questioning him, and then used an unnecessarily large needle to stitch tiny tears, the Chicago-Tribune reported Tuesday.

After an investigation, Pierce was disciplined with a written warning and indefinite probation, a spokeswoman for Rush said Monday. Pierce has declined to comment on the case, the Tribune reported.